Abbé Capperonnier
Artist: Jacques-André-Joseph Aved (French, 1702-1766)
Date: 1740
Dimensions:
H: 31 in. (78.7 cm); W: 25 in. (63.5 cm)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Preston Levis
Object number: 1986.2
Label Text:Claude Capperonnier was an abbé, or deacon, and a scholar of classical literature. In 1722 he was appointed professor of Greek literature at the Collège de France. Shown seated in his study and wearing an abbé’s robes, he leans on a copy of his translation of the Roman writer Quintilian. A quill pen and an ink pot further allude to his status as a scholar. The portrait was commissioned by the financier Antoine Crozat, whose three sons Capperonnier tutored.
Jacques André Joseph Aved’s portraits are memorable for their psychological and factual realism, and for their absence of superficial elegance. He characterized his sitters by using poses typical of each person, surrounded by carefully chosen props meaningful to their daily life.
Aved was first trained in Amsterdam, and the realism of Dutch painting made a deep impression on his art. He especially admired Rembrandt (1606–1669) and owned a painting by him, as well as a complete set of his etchings.
Jacques André Joseph Aved’s portraits are memorable for their psychological and factual realism, and for their absence of superficial elegance. He characterized his sitters by using poses typical of each person, surrounded by carefully chosen props meaningful to their daily life.
Aved was first trained in Amsterdam, and the realism of Dutch painting made a deep impression on his art. He especially admired Rembrandt (1606–1669) and owned a painting by him, as well as a complete set of his etchings.
Not on view
In Collection(s)